Limestone Outcrops of Ojców

On a summer midday the surface of a white rock on the south-facing side of the Prądnik Valley can heat up to 60°C, while a few dozen metres away, in the shady forest on the north-facing slope, the thermometer reads 22°C. That contrast is the key to Ojców: a narrow valley cut into limestone, overlooked by free-standing rock outcrops – the Kraków Gate, Deotyma's Needle, the Glove and, at the northern end of the park, Hercules' Club. This is Poland's smallest national park and one of the most distinctive places in the Polish Jura.

How the outcrops formed

Ojców's rocks are made of Upper Jurassic limestone, formed on the floor of an ancient sea; in places it is up to 200 m thick. It comes in two kinds: hard, compact rock limestone full of sponge skeletons, and softer, layered bedded limestone with flint nodules. In the early Tertiary, erosion levelled the area into a gently rolling plateau at about 450 m above sea level. Only the toughest blocks of rock limestone survived – these are the outcrops (in Polish ostańce). Later the rivers cut about 100 m into the plateau, and fragments of old rock terraces on the valley sides became gateways, spires and towers.

The most famous rocks

• Kraków Gate (Brama Krakowska) – a rock gateway at the mouth of a side gorge leading into the Prądnik Valley, one of the most visited spots in the park. Opposite, on Mount Koronna, grows feather grass (Stipa joannis), a steppe plant left over from an earlier, drier steppe period.
• Deotyma's Needle (Igła Deotymy) – a slender spire at the mouth of the Wrześnik gorge, on the east side of the Prądnik, between the Maiden Rocks and the Bachelor Rocks. It was named to commemorate the stay of the poet Jadwiga Łuszczewska (pen name Deotyma) in Ojców in 1853. The rock is wrapped in Virginia creeper, which turns bright red in autumn.
• Hercules' Club (Maczuga Herkulesa) – a club-shaped rock about 25 m tall standing on a terrace by Pieskowa Skała Castle. The first confirmed ascent was made by Ludwik Ziemblic and Franciszek Żurek in 1913; climbing it has been banned since the park was created.
• Łaskawiec, the Glove (Rękawica), the Maiden Rocks and the Bachelor Rocks – more formations along the valley and its slopes.

A park bought back by people

In the 19th century whole forests were cut down here and cave sediments were dug out for fertiliser. The first plots were bought to protect nature by the amateur archaeologist Jan Zawisza, then by Ludwik Krasiński, and a company set up on the initiative of Adolf Dygasiński bought Pieskowa Skała Castle together with the surrounding rocks. Professor Władysław Szafer drew up a plan for a nature reserve in 1924, but the park was only created on 14 January 1956 – the sixth in Poland. It covers 21.46 km², and its symbol is the bat.

Tripto tip

Ojców lies about 16 km north of Kraków. A trail runs along the floor of the Prądnik Valley past most of the famous rocks; the walk from the Kraków Gate through Ojców to Deotyma's Needle takes 2–3 hours, and with Pieskowa Skała and Hercules' Club allow half a day or more. Visitors concentrate in the narrow valley – at the Kraków Gate, Łokietek Cave, the castle park and Pieskowa Skała – so arrive early at weekends. Autumn is the most beautiful season, when the creeper on Deotyma's Needle turns red. Remember this is a national park: stay on the marked trails, and climbing rocks such as Hercules' Club or Deotyma's Needle is not allowed.